Floating Above the Water
by Jumofi of the Mad Hare
Summary: In the small town of Iwatobi, fate brings five girls to the swim club and its members. The dandere, the American fresh meat, the tsundere, the explorer, and the princess. How will their year turn out? Samantha Mueller moves into town to her grandmother's from her small home in Tennessee. While starting anew Samantha fights to forget a painful past. Will meeting Makoto help her?
1. Samantha Mueller

Chapter One:

_'It'll be a short visit with your grandmother, babe. Soon after you'll be home. It'll feel like a week, I promise.'_

_ 'Sam, you're grown up now and you need some experience.I know it's not your idea of "visiting" your grandmother, but you'll learn to like it.'_

_ 'You really are moving, huh?...Then I guess you should know...You see, Brandon and I are...'_

_ 'Hey, there's something I gotta tell you. I know you'll hate me for this, but Jess-uh, Jessica and I had...so, I can't do this with you anymore...What was your big news again?'_

_ Their voices echoed in my head, playing over and over again...and I couldn't say anything. I just sat in the dark while they continued on-_

I sat up in bed as my alarm blared its annoying tune from my dresser. It read in bold numbers: 7:50.

"You have got to be kidding me! I thought I set it for 7:00!" I exclaimed.

I scrambled for the bathroom while slipping on my skirt. My hair sprung up from all different angles in the mirror and yet i had to put on a fricking tie, zip up my skirt, shoes, socks-

_Man, and I have to hurry to catch the bus and I've got only ten minutes..._

Then I looked in the mirror and realized that the medicine cabinet was different. The toothbrush cup wasn't the same color or size, and my backpack wasn't in the hallway.

_Oh, that's right. I'm in Japan, not Tennessee. Mom and Dad aren't here, and grandma's still in the hospital. There aren't even any buses around here...only trains._

I stopped brushing my teeth to look at my reflection. Even though my hair was a mess and I hadn't put on any make-up yet, I was the same as ever. Just lil' ol' Samantha from America who lived an average high school life. She was completely clueless as to what had happened when she was still home...

"Nope, c'mon Sam. You're a new girl. You can't go back to that anymore!" I said to myself, "Not gonna happen."

After finishing up I headed into the kitchen to find some breakfast. I thanked God for the leftover omelet surprise grandma made for me. She could make anything her lil' heart desired, especially liver stew, and it'd taste like a sliver of heaven. How I wish she were here right now...

It was a shame that I had to rush through breakfast just to get to school. By the time I was heading out the door I only had nine minutes before homeroom started. And I still had to meet one of my teachers.

I made it with the last swarm of people walking in while there was a minute or so left. To my amazement I found an empty cubby for my shoes right by the door. Everything was a piece of cake, but then came my worst nightmare: directory signs. Speaking Japanese was fine for me since my parents taught me over the years, but I could barely translate Kanji to save my life. While I stared at the sign on the wall there were other people eyeing me like I was a three-headed animal. _Take a picture, it'll last longer, _I snapped at them in my mind.

" 'Sumi masen', are you lost?"

Standing next to me was a girl with long locks of light blue and teal eyes peering up at me through blue-rimmed glasses. She stood straight and stiff like a porcelain doll, waiting for my response, but I was at a loss for words.

" 'Ano', are you lost? Are you a new student?" she asked in flawless English.

"Oh, um..'hai'. I'm a new student, " I answered back in Japanese.

"You're a transfer student, I assume?'

"Ah, yeah. I stick out like a sore thumb, don't I?"

She smiled kindly at me then showed me to the teacher's office. I happened to catch a very prestigious air about her as she led me down the hall. The way she carried herself seemed to put off that she was an aristocrat of some sort. As we passed some other students, they walked along the opposite wall. The girls either whispered or just stared as the boys looked in different directions. To me it was like she was famous, or just avoided for some reason. I turned back to the girl, but she pretended not to notice.

My teacher, this "Ms. Ama", had already left when I got to her office. There was only a minute left for me to make it on time, so I had to run. Good thing I was fast on my feet.

"Oh," I said, "I never got your name."

"My name is Michiko...Michiko Ryuko," she told me.

"That's such a pretty name. I'm Samantha Mueller. Thanks for helpin' me to the teacher's office."

"Not at all. I hope your first day turns out well."

I grinned quickly before running out the door. Whatever groups of students coming in stared in bewilderment as I dashed down the hall. Two boys were carrying a large board as I was closing in on the stairs. My instincts naturally kicked in at that point. The next moment I found myself pushing off the ground with my hands and flipping over them in the air. The knees were a bit weaker than I imagined when I tumbled on the landing. I jumped up and kept going as I heard one yelling at me too fast for me to comprehend.

"Score one for Team America, bud!" I countered back.

With no time to lose I climbed the stairs. There were other voices coming from above which I assumed were my teacher's and someone else's. I shouted at the top of my lungs, " 'Mat-te-de!' "

When I finally got to the top stair I found two spooked women. One was a young woman with a brown, bobbed haircut, and the other was my age wearing her dark blue hair in a side ponytail. As I was trying to catch my breath, I asked, "Are..you..Ama-sensei?"

"U-uh, yes...I am. A-are you another stu-student?" the lady on the right replied.

" 'Hai' !" I stood up to face Ama-sensei and introduced myself.

Ms. Ama smiled and told me about her being eager to meet an American transfer student. She relaxed a little as she talked with me, but the other girl next to her seemed apprehensive. From the corner of my eye I could see her bashfully looking at me and then down at herself. I immediately thought, _Oh my God! She is so adorable! If you put some fake cat ears on her she'd be so cute! And she's real short...just adorable!_

Our teacher then took us down the hall towards the classroom. It was quiet between the three of us, almost as though we were being led down the Green Mile. I turned to my classmate to try to bring up a conversation, and boy, was she petrified. She was growing pale as we kept going and she tried taking a few breaths quietly so our teacher wouldn't notice. The last time I could recall someone being this anxious was when my Bio partner in 9th grade had to cut open a pig fetus. That day ended with her being held in the nurse's office after she fainted. Our teacher probably saw that coming...and he gave us a B+ for the effort...

But this girl before me was obviously so nervous for her first day. I felt that I had to say something or else she'd pass out. The only thing I could think of was to ask for her name.

"Misuzu-san, isn't it?"

We were left outside after Ama-sensei left to do roll call. She looked up at me, taking another deep breath, and mumbled, "Um..yes?"

I couldn't help but smile at her. She was just like a kitten. When Ms. Ama told me her name I almost slipped up and said, "Aww..."

"I'm Samantha. You can call me Sam if you'd like.

"So you're a new student too? Where're you from?"

"Uh...Wakayama..."

Little Misuzu started to settle down after I got her to talk. On a whim I continued on about the town and some of the other things I got to know after my two months of being here. Heck, I even mentioned a manga I randomly found in my dad's old box in the attic (which then led me to more manga searching at the local store). She seemed happy to talk about those small kind of things so I tried my best to keep her occupied.

But then our names were called from the classroom. She lowered her head as she entered first, myself after her. I thought it was necessary to shut the door behind me so I turned around and reached for the knob. But there was no knob.

"Um..Ms. Samantha, is there something outside?"

"Uh.."

I flipped back to her and said, "I can't find the door knob..."

"Eh?!"

The classroom was brimming with whispers as they stared at me. I turned back to the door saying, "It's weird that-oh..."

Sliding doors+Japanese school=not in America. That equation didn't add up until I pulled the door out and shut it properly. My face was bright red when I turned to my teacher and tried to apologize.

"I'm so sorry, " I babbled as I bowed in apology, "I'm used to western-style doors that I forgot it was different at school here!"

Everyone was laughing at me by this point. Only Ms. Ama and Misuzu were the ones trying to comprehend my blunder. Ms. Ama sighed once she realized that there was nothing to worry about. My teacher continued on with the introductions as mine had-unofficially-been established. She calmed the class and turned to Misuzu to introduce herself. Misuzu slightly nodded in response, but kept her head down. As she gathered the courage to speak she faced the class with an empty expression. But her eyes wandered to the corner of the classroom. I followed her gaze and found a boy with dark indigo hair and blue eyes staring carelessly out the window. _Does she know him, somehow?_

"Ms. Misuzu?"

"I..I'm..Misuzu Kasumi. it is nice to meet you, " she squeaked in her little voice.

After that I was called on to give my name. Not that "newbie", "fresh meat", and "typical American" was perfect enough to call me, I did what Misuzu had done.

"I am Samantha Mueller. It is nice to meet you all. I hope we can all get along this year!"

Then came our seating arrangement. It was pretty clear where we would be sitting since there were only two empty desks sitting in the far back right across from one another. Naturally I took the one that was closest to Window Boy and his companion just for the sake of it. Misuzu quickly followed after me, taking her place on my right. Once that moment of awkwardness was over with Ms. Ama went on with our lessons.

The day unexpectedly went by like a second. Next thing I know there was a bell and everyone's dispersing to get lunch. I had already packed mine in a rush which consisted of only a plastic boxed-salad and a juice box. Not my regular go-to meal, but I felt like I needed some vegetables for once. Misuzu was still packing away her things when I came up and asked if she wanted to eat on the roof.

"Th-the roof?"

"Yeah. I've always wanted to do that like in the anime."

"O-oh.."

She looked down, still trying to put away her things.

"Hm? Haven't you been able to do that before?'

"I...I don't think I have."

I literally gasped at her. All these people have been up there to eat at least once, haven't they? It's like how back in America we'd be able to sit outside for lunch during the spring. That was an initiation in a sort of twisted way. And you aren't a Japanese school kid until you've tried to eat on the roof.

"Then we're gonna fix that. C'mon!"

She picked up her 'bento' and followed me outside the classroom. I motioned for her to get closer so she could follow, but she was somewhat hesitant. I'd turn back and find her about a foot or two away up until we were already at the foot of the stairs. Just as we were about to climb the staircase I noticed myself getting antsy. I was about to hop up and down like a kid, for crying out loud!

When Misuzu finally got close enough I reached my hand out to her.

"Let's go!" I encouraged her, "It's supposed to be beautiful weather out right now!"

"Uh..um..."

She put her little hand in mine and I looked at her with a big smile. We climbed up the last of the steps then I pushed the door open.

The bright sunlight burst at us as we stepped outside. Misuzu stayed closest to the door, barely even taking in the view. I took a deep breath in and spun around.

"Oh my God, look at the view!

"Isn't it wonderful, Misuzu-san?" I asked her.

She was just about to say something when a maroon-haired girl spoke up.

" 'Misuzu-san' ? As in 'Misuzu Kasumi'?"

"Gou-san?"

"Kou! You still don't remember?"

_Oh...this is a bit awkward..._I guessed that they knew each other from before, but it didn't add up if Misuzu was from a different town. Could she have been to Iwatobi as a kid?...

The other girl, Kou, sat down next to her friend and Misuzu. _This meant I'd have to squeeze myself in somewhere..._

"Mueller-san, right? You are from America?"

"Um..yeah." _Or maybe not..._

I took a seat next to Misuzu feeling as though I was about to be persecuted as a new student. It was more concerning than frightening for me, but it didn't turn out that way. Kou asked me about America. They were really small things such as the Statue of Liberty or the recent movie I've seen. I answered them on a whim which I shouldn't-didn't want to answer. My memories of home only brought up the pain...

I did my best to keep from choking on my answers as Kou became giddy with excitement (especially about her questions concerning Michael Phelps...that was beyond me, though).

"The newest movie that came out that I've seen was The Host, but I didn't get to see it right away. You see, I-ouch!"

Someone stomped right onto my hand as I was reaching for my lunch. There was a sharp pain crawling up my arm as I took a deep breath through clenched teeth. The person bent down and was in the middle of asking me something when I turned my head. We both stared into each other's eyes whoever knows how long. His...his eyes were a brilliant green I'd never seen before. They were so amazing..

_'I know you'll hate me for this...but Jess-'_

Brandon's eyes...

I quickly looked away to avoid that bitter memory. My attention snapped back to my hand sitting on top of a sopping mess.

"I'm fine, really, " I tried to reassure him, "however..."

He took a handkerchief out from his pocket and held it out to me.

"Oh, I-I..."

"Here. It's alright. You can take it."

Even his voice was mesmerizing. He wasn't like any of the guys I've met, and American good guys were hard to come by nowadays...

I bit my lip as I took the handkerchief from him and wiped my hand clean. When I stood up to throw away my "lunch" he followed after me.

"Great..." I sighed as I watched my food go.

"I-I'm really sorry about this. Please, let me make it up to you."

"Oh no! I can't-I wouldn't want to-"

"I insist."

I pursed my lips as he gave me a small encouraging smile. This guy was harmless but that was the problem. I didn't want to take advantage of the poor guy even when he kept insisting. And everyone was still watching too...

"A-Alright.."

Both of us went down the stairs with him in the lead. I hadn't seen the cafe stand yet and apparently everyone here buys lunch. But there were some others I saw that packed-

"Ah, M-Mueller-san, was it?" he said.

"Hm? O-oh, yes."

"So you're an American transfer student?"

"Yeah," I confessed, "guess my cover's blown, huh?"

He chuckled and then replied, "America is a very big country, and yet you came to a small town. Are you here with family?"

"Yes. My grandmother, in fact,. She and I live in town close-by. It's a bit noisy, though."

"Oh? How so?"

"There are construction workers two houses down and across from mine who are tearing apart this one building. They're taking their sweet time with it too."

"Hmm..out of curiosity, do you know what the building is called?"

"Agh, I don't know. I'm still trying to figure out my Kanji. But I do remember that one side has a massive painting of a child swimming. It's a bit creepy when you look at it."

He looked down for a moment as though he were lost in thought. I stopped next to him and asked if he was feeling alright. To me he seemed fit as a fiddle, but something told me there was more to it.

"Oh, no! I-I'm perfectly fine...We're almost to the cafe."

I followed him after that awkward scene around the corner to the cafe stand. He sat back quietly as I looked at all the breads and sandwiches they offered (no hamburgers or anything? Just sandwiches?), finally deciding to get a melon bread. I felt guilt wash over me as he handed the lunch lady the money, even more so when she eye balled us and muttered to herself about "flirtatious couples". Man, did he blush...

The walk back was mostly silent. I wanted to bring up something to get him talking, but I barely knew the guy. What was it that nice guys talked about? Sports? Books? Grades?!

"Umm..I guess this is your stop."

I turned to him when he suddenly broke my train of thought. We were already back on the roof beside my circle of friends.

"Oh..yeah. A-And thank you again..for buying for me..."

"N-no problem. Nice to meet you,..by the way.."

"You too. I'm Samantha. Or, here I would call myself 'Mueller', wouldn't I?"

"Yes," he chuckled. Then he gave me his name. "I'm Tachibana Makoto."

His smile was unexpected. I stopped to look at him as he lit up like a candle with the bright smile. It was always cute when a shy guy opened up like that.

"I'll see you in class, then."

"Hu-oh, yes. See you then!"

He went back to his friends by the ledge, and I returned to mine. When I sat down another girl joined the party. Her hair was long and blonde, pulled into a ponytail, the end dip-dyed a sort of dark brown. She was most friendly to Kou and Kasumi. Probably another "old friend" of theirs.

I turned to Kou.

"Do you guys know him?"

"Know him? That's Tachibana Makoto-kun! Everyone knows his as the 'nicest boy on the planet'. And his shoulders..."

She sort of giggled to herself as she daydreamed about him. I didn't know what to do at that point with her smitten on his shoulders. Kasumi was confused as well.

"Ka-"

"So, are you a newbie too?" the blonde girl asked me.

"U-Uh yeah...am I that popular around here?"

"Puh-lease. This is just a small town. They're impressed with just about anybody. Like me."

"Where'd you move from?"

"Oh, y'know, the UK...then some other town here," she casually boasted in English.

"No way!" I exclaimed back.

She and I chatted away in English about our own lives before Iwatobi. I learned that Ella spent most of her time in England with her family, then her father transferred here on business. It was most amazing to me that she was half-English, half-Japanese, so both languages were in the bag for her.

Because Ella was a first-year student and Kasumi and I were second-years, she had to leave us at our classroom after the bell rang. Like before my day began its second half and it ended quickly. Everyone left in groups while Kasumi and I were one of the last few left after Makoto and his friend. Now that I was looking closely, I could see that he was remarkably tall. He could be a basketball player for all I knew...

"Uh..Samantha-san, are you riding the train home?"

I turned to Kasumi and answered, "No, I"m sorry. I live nearby in town. Are you farther out?"

She nodded with a disappointed look on her face. Her eyes were on Makoto's friend.

"Hey, I'll walk you to the train. I've wanted to see more of the town anyway."

She smiled at me like a little kid at the candy store. I had just melted inside when she did that. Kasumi was so cute!

Odd enough that Makoto and his friend were going to same way, Kasumi and I ended up right behind them 'til we got to the station. Kasumi and I waved goodbye, and she headed towards the train as the warning alarm to get on was near the end. Her hand was out when Makoto's friend took it and pulled her in. I bet she was blushing all the way home..

After that I walked home by myself. My next door neighbors greeted me as I got to the front door, which I quickly did back and went about my business. It was peaceful for the rest of the day until dark. I was just about to fall asleep when I heard commotion coming towards the house. There were only three people walking down the street, two of them running their mouths and the other quietly leading the way. They were heading for the old building while I watched them from the window, probably gonna smoke or mess around in there. _Great. I'm not gonna get enough sleep tonight..._

I put on some different clothes and grabbed a flash outside, I turned to follow the annoying no-do-gooders. I walked up to the old building where no one was outside. Of course, everyone knew that you'd want to do your dirty business inside where others wouldn't see, so I started with the front doors. There was a registration desk in the main hall with dirt and mold growing in every corner. Looking at it just sent chills up my spine.

In a close-by hallway came a few echoes of what sounded like people shouting and kicking cans at the wall. I gripped my flashlight as I walked down hoping that they weren't gangsters. Because in America they meant business if they had numbers, but Japan was different. This small town could easily be taken by at least five yakuza members. They were powerful if they had underground connections.

It took a while before I came across an indoor pool. I had no idea that this was a swim school until I saw the hoodlums dishing it out on one end of the pool. I watched secretly as two of them threw off their shirts. Wait-

"What?" I mumbled, nuzzling my face closer to the window behind them. Then they began unbuckling their pants as the other two tried to talk them out of it.

"Hot damn! What's this, a new Japanese fighting style?" I exclaimed.

The two going at it were dressed in swim suits, completely oblivious to my sudden outburst. But the sidekicks turned to me. I quickly ducked under the window before they could spot me._ My God, Sam can you make yourself any more weirder?_

It seemed as though things had calmed down when the red-head left and the other three came in. One of them I recognized as Makoto from earlier. Without thinking I spoke out and asked, "What're you doin' out here, Makoto-kun?"

(If none of you have ever heard a young man scream before...well, I'm sorry that I couldn't record that moment for you). The way he screamed would've woken up a town. I jumped out of my skin when he did that, but when he turned around I exclaimed, "Good Lord almighty! You were about to give me a heart attack!"

"Ah, Mueller-san!"

"Yes..and what are you all doing here?"

"We could ask the same as you, Samantha-chan!" his shorter friend piped in.

"Nagisa.." Makoto mumbled.

" '-chan?' Uh..you guys aren't...yakuza trying to sneak around, are you?" I quipped.

"Yakuza?!" the two repeated.

"So that's a 'no'?"

"No-no! We're not yakuza...uh, do you want to come with us? We'll explain everything on the way," Makoto replied.

"I will...I'd just hurry if I were you."

"What for?"

"I'll tell you when we get out of here."

I grabbed Makoto's arm and led the way out. By now it was more than ten minutes since I had left the house. In the end, we were left with a warning at school not to trespass on private property. I tried defending myself to the teacher in charge, but he just wrote me off like I was weaseling my way out of the situation. So now grandma would get a letter soon of how my first day went.

Makoto and his other friends came up to me at lunch and tried to apologize for getting me into trouble, but at this point I wasn't as forgiving as I usually was.

"What were you all doing there at night? I should at least know that."

Makoto turned to me with a charming apologetic look.

"You see, it was about that particular building."

They walked me to the roof as Makoto explained the details. According to him, they were all a part of the old swim school when they were kids. There was a trophy they buried as a time capsule that they wanted to save, but their friend Rin showed up and challenged Haru (that dadgone silent type) to some kind of swimming match (I dunno-something that these Iwatobi boys do here). That was pretty much where I came in and tried to chase them away but to no avail.

Of course, it sounded like a farce to me.

"Then why did you have to break into the actual building when your trophy was in the courtyard?"

"We'd have to go through the back door to reach it. Though it would have been more convenient if we could have gotten in a different way."

I laughed and said, "Yeah, if only. But what was your other friend there for? Was it the trophy?"

The boys paused to look at each other. Nagisa then told me, "Rin-chan was a part of the swim club, too. But last night...he was different.."

"Oh.."

After that the conversation dropped. I didn't know if I hit a vein with these three or not so I wanted to change the topic before it just became awkward.

I turned to Makoto and said, "Um, Tachibana-kun? I'm sorry for earlier when I spooked you."

"O-oh, uh-"

" 'Neh', Makoto-chan? Bet you're still gonna be scared of the dark after last night," teased Nagisa.

"Oi, Nagisa!"

Nagisa cackled and told me, "You should've seen him last night. He hid behind Haru nearly the whole time!"

"Is that right?" I replied.

I gave Makoto a sympathetic smile.

"If it makes any difference, I don't like horror movies in particular."

He smiled back half-relieved and half-embarrassed. If I didn't know any better, I could've sworn that he was blushing. The timid "hand-behind-the-head" gesture he made almost seemed surreal compared to the many times anyone has seen it in Japanese drama, but he made it look good. What really caught my breath was his eyes. Right as he opened them I thought to myself, _Dear God, how beautiful a work You've done on this boy's eyes. Thank you.._They were such gentle eyes for him which was an incredibly perfect match. And the green-

"Is there something wrong, Mueller-san?" Makoto asked.

"Oh, excuse me. I'm not one to doze off like that."

Before we could finish the bell rang and Kasumi scooted in between us to walk back to class with me. None of us were able to talk to each other until the end of class came. Kasumi jumped at the chance for me to take her to the train station. I agreed, of course, but I had no idea why she was so antsy about it.

Just like before Kasumi and I were behind Makoto and Haru on the road to the station. Again I caught her staring at Haru, bashfully looking up and away as though she were confirming something. I automatically assumed that she had a small crush on him, so I whispered to her, "Y'know, a conversation doesn't start until you speak up."

"Eh?!"

She turned to me and asked, "W-What do you mean? That I say something to-"

"Well, only if you can. And I believe that's perfectly simple for you."

"I-talking to...Nanase-kun.."

"Uh-huh."

Kasumi immediately ducked her head down. I patted her back and replied, "No need to be embarrassed. It's simple. Here, lemme show you."

I walked up to Makoto with a tight grip on Kasumi's wrist.

"Hey, Tachibana-kun! Nanase-kun!"

"Oh, Mueller-san, hello! Are you taking the train as well?"

"Me? No, I'm just taking my friend Misuzu-chan. She's the one who catches the train."

I eased her closer to the group so she could speak. She kept close to me for the remainder of the walk as Makoto took over the rest. Makoto, being the nice one, asked her about her moving here and if she liked the town so far. She would've given him clear answers if Haru hadn't looked at her from the corner of his eye. Every time his attention was on her she started getting nervous. From my view it looked like he was glaring at her and she started clamming up because of it. I patted her back again to help her yet she had already made up her mind to shut down. So much for that...

She and Haru got onto the train as Makoto stopped to talk to me. He asked me, "Is your friend Misuzu-chan feeling alright?"

"Yeah, but she's a bit shy. I'm guessing she was scared when..uh, Haru was listening."

"Oh. I guess I can understand then. Haruka was always quiet when we were younger."

"You two were really close back then, huh?"

"Heh, yeah."

"Then I guess it's up to us to help our friends open up more, 'neh' ?"

He looked surprised to hear me say that as though I took the words right out of his mouth. I only grinned back at him like it was meant to be taken lightly, but his smile in return said something different. If only the warning chime hadn't gone off for him to leave. I would've been able to talk to him a little longer, but instead we waved goodbye and parted our ways. As I walked home, I thought about all the smiles he'd given me in a single day. I wonder what tomorrow will bring...


	2. Our New Club

Chapter Two:

My next day began with the sakura trees blowing petals in my front yard, the sun shining, and not so warm-of-weather that I expected in the beginning of April. I guess I expected a little too much considering the Tennessee weather I was accompanied to for so long. I wished that I could take this long of a walk with my grandma, get to talk, just see a familiar smile after this sudden change of pace for me, but her condition hadn't stabilized since I came here. One of these days, maybe even this week, I could set forward to visit her...

When I was walking up the street and close to the school, I saw lil' Misuzu starin' at her feet slowly carrying her to the front gate. I thought I'd say 'hi' so I called out to her as I quickly crossed the road. She looked up at me with a sad, somewhat tired expression, and I asked her if something was wrong. I never expected an answer like, "Compared to you I'm just pitiful is all," coming.

"Huh? 'Pitiful'? Did someone make fun of you?"

Or worse..what if she took the train and-

"Did someone touch you on the train?"

"Eh?!"

She nervously looked around at the street. That must've meant that he was still around!

"Oh! C'mon, Misuzu-san! Let's talk somewhere private!"

I took her by the hand and fled to the gates. The predator couldn't touch her on school property where there were other around, and I felt that it was safer to hide behind a sakura tree. This time I asked her again, but Ella came up to us saying," Yo! Wazz-up!"

"Misuzu-san may have been touched on the train!"

"Wait, like, bump 'touched' or illegally 'touched'?"

"Illegally."

She snapped back to Misuzu.

"Misuzu-chan! Who touched you?!"

"N-"

"It's okay, hon'," I told her, "You can tell us."

Rule number one on the Comforting Friend's List: Don't make the other person feel pressured in any way, otherwise, they will shut down. It's kind of like the same thing when you're cohersin' a rabbit out of its hole. You don't pressure it, and try to not make a sound as you sneak up to it. So, I just needed to-Wait, do those things even use the same principles?

"We'll have to call the police, y'know."

"Oh, phooey! If this pervert is out there now then we'll hafta' get 'em ourselves!"

"Nah, who knows who this person is. If it were some wimp, then I say 'hell, yeah let's get 'em'!

"What if they have a weapon on 'em?"

"You're talkin' to a girl who's lived in the US! Where I'm from I've seen my daddy use different guns while deer huntin' so many times that I'd know how to take apart that gun in less than ten seconds!"

" 'Ano'!"

Ella and I turned to Misuzu who became red-faced as she realized more than just us had heard her from inside the school building. I was just shocked that she could raise her voice like that.

"No one touched me. I never even got onto the train this morning...I'm sorry if there was some sort of misunderstanding.."

"Oh, thank the Lord!" I sighed, " You had me worried!"

"Misuzu-chan, don't scare us like that!"

The bell interrupted us while we stood frozen realizing that all of us were going to be late. Ella immediately made a bee line for the front doors shouting something back to us. I reacted a bit too irrationally by grabbing Misuzu's had and running after Ella. We threw off our shoes at the entrance and forgot to put on our indoor ones as we ran down the hallway. Both of us carried our shoes and just ran with our feet in our socks, which may not have been the best solution while running up the stairs. We were so close-then Misuzu tripped over her own foot and laid out face flat. The pressure was on for us to get to class in less than a minute and now we had a set back. There was no other choice.

"Sorry, kitten," I mumbled.

I picked her up and tossed her over my shoulders. She wasn't any heavier than a bale of hay I used to carry to the barns back home.

"Hold on, I'mma get us there."

"M-M-M-Ma-Ma-Mate-"

"I ain't quittin' on ya!"

And away I went. I leapt up the stairs two at a time running as fast as I could towards the classroom.

In order to sneak in the best way I had to use the door to the back of the class. It was about time that I had to use my gymnastics from middle to sneak in. So I took one large breath and opened the door, ready for this new challenge.

My mind zipped to the first step: Misuzu. I raced into the class, sliding on my knees and pulled out her chair. She hopped onto the chair. Then I somersaulted to my seat. Right on time the teacher called out Misuzu's name; she weakly responded. She looked over at me with a shocked expression. All I could do besides laugh at our situation on the inside was smile and think, _Hey, if we got away with it, then that's all that counts._

Lunchtime came pretty quickly after that. It was a quiet day outside and the sunlight set the mood perfectly as the girls and I sat together to eat. Everyone was happily chatting away with each other, but Kou was depressingly looking down at her 'keitai'.

So I asked her, "So, what's the 4-1-1 from last night, Matsuoka-san?"

Hopefully it wasn't anything upsetting to her. I just went in without thinking about it. Good Lord, Sam. Can't you think before actin'?

"Eh? Wh-What do you you mean?"

Well, by her response it was less of a personal situation than I'd imagined. At least she was able to tell me what was on her mind.

"Oh, c'mon now, I can tell something is bugging you by that look on your face. Did something happen?"

"I...I sent a text to my brother to see if he had met with his friends Hazuki-kun, Tachibana-kun and Nanase-kun at the old swim school. But he hasn't replied back..."

That reminded me of that on guy who walked off from them at the pool. But, wait, wasn't it more red, or magenta hair? Either way..

"Wait! You mean to tell me that your brother was the red-head from the other night?"

"What? You've seen 'Onii-san'?"

"Ah, well...yeah.."

I explained to everyone what happened the other night when I chased after the boys into the old swim school. Some of them laughed as I told them about the boys stripping and me shouting for no reason. But suddenly Kou asks me if they got to swim. That was new for me, askin' if they swam when there were better questions to ask than that.

"H-Huh? Uh-no. There wasn't any water in the pool so they left. That's when I came into the scene. And dadgum, did all of us get into trouble!"

"What?" exclaimed Misuzu, "You too, Mueller-san?!"

"Sure did! And I was the one who tried shooin' them off!"

When I saw the look on her face I changed gears. I wouldn't have expected her to be disappointed. I mean, back home many of the people I knew bragged about not gettin' caught from something (more of thrill seekers than hard-core crime junkies, mind you) or even gettin' into trouble. Even Bran-

No, I'm in Japan._ I'm in Japan_...

I didn't know what was wrong with me for the rest of the day as I sat back in class. I was looking at the board, taking notes and listening to the teacher, yet i wasn't. The classroom had changed with the glare of the sunlight in my eye, and I could've sworn that I was back in America with Jess sitting besides me, Brandon in the back with his friends, and our quirky English teacher Mr. Reed up front. Everyone laughed as he tripped over his rug under his podium and my friend whispered something funny to me about our teacher. Then it'd all disappeared like an unimportant dream...

When I finally got back to the teacher's lecture, I stared at the notes and I tried to catch whatever I'd missed. At this point I could find more interest in what I'd make for dinner tonight than taking notes.

Thankfully the bell rang and everyone left. I stood up and stretched my sore arms out. Misuzu sat mesmerized and in her own her, her cheeks lookin' a bit warm. She jumped when I called out her name.

"You feelin' alright, Misuzu-san?"

"U-Uh..yes. I'm just tired. Do you mind if I go on ahead?"

"Naw, you go on. I'm just gonna talk with Matsuoka-san before leaving."

"O-Okay."

Misuzu bustled out the door with our other classmates. I sighed to myself as I thought about dinner tonight and eating alone once again. All I wanted was to go back home and forget that I had even thought about the past. It just put me in a puckered out mood.

In any case, I couldn't miss out on meeting up with Kou. It sounded important and Ella had already found and dragged me down the hallway to go meet Kou. I put on the best face I could manage for her so that I could at least pretend I was okay.

We caught up to our friend who was talking to Tachibana and Hazuki by the end of the hallway. I picked up on some of the conversation they had, only translating "water", "we", and "fun". Dunno what they were going on about, but it seemed that Ella heard them as well. She stepped up to Hazuki and demanded, "What's this about a club?"

Man, was she up in arms. The way she was looking at Hazuki was like she was challenging him to a duel. He turned to her, her glare not even phasing him, and said, "Ah! Takemono-chan!"

"E-Takemono '-chan'?"

" 'Gomen', I don't know you first name."

Then I watched her look at Hazuki. She opened her mouth to jump his case, but she stopped. The glare in her eye faded, and she dumb-foundedly stared at him. To me, Hazuki was bashfully looking to the side and scratched his cheek. I could've sworn there was color in her cheeks, but she quickly shook her head, he looked at her, she turned and went, "Hmph!"

_Oh, she's what you call a 'tsundere'! So, that means that she is weak to cute even when she tries to act tough. So then...she thinks he's cute?...Hmm..._

"Neh, Samantha-chan. We wanted to get some people together to form a swim club."

"You mean you guys don't have one now?"

I looked at the rest of the group. Kou turned to me and answered, "I think they used to have one, but most of the seniors graduated and there weren't enough members to keep it going. So then they shut it down for a few years..."

"Oh."

" 'Mah-neh', would you join it if we start on, Samantha-chan? It'd be really fun, and we'd-"

"Sounds great to me. I'll definitely join."

" 'Ya-ta'!"

Hazuki threw his fist up in the air, Tachibana and Kou smiling with him. I looked at Ella thinking that she'd say she'd join too, but she looked at her shoes and blushed as Hazuki asked, "What about you, Takemono-chan?"

She frowned, her lips pursed and she avoided looking directly at Hazuki. Everyone stood waiting for her to respond but she wouldn't budge.

I then told Hazuki and the others, "Y'know what, we both have to get home before the hour's up. Do you mind if we pick this back up tomorrow?"

"E-i. We'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Alright-y. Take care, guys!"

"Bye-bye!" Kou said as she waved to us.

I walked with Ella down the hall and tried to snap her out of her thoughts . She kept frowning to herself and uncurling then curling her fists. It was more concerning than that when we got to the front door and she started banging her head on her locker door.

"Uh, Ella, you okay there?"

"I-agh,...I'm fine. I just hate that guy," she said, quietly mumbling to herself at that last part.

"You..wanna talk about it?"

"Yes-no-I-AGH!"

She slammed the shoe locker door and stuffed her feet into her outdoor shoes. I jumped back. Was she really ticked off by Hazuki? What did he do to her that made her that upset?

"Let's go," she muttered to me.

I quietly followed behind her as we left school grounds and walked down the sidewalk. She grumbled to herself for the whole fifteen minutes we had walking with each other, and I didn't have a clue of what to say to her. I thought of just starting off with how her week had been going or if she knew any funny TV shows. But there just wasn't a chance to talk to her. As she was off in her own world, she stomped her feet and sped up another few feet in front of me.

That's it-

"Ella-chan!"

I grabbed her bag strap and said, "You shouldn't stress yourself this much. If something's botherin' you, you just need to talk about it."

She finally gave in and sighed.

"Hazuki ticks me off."

"Okay..." I ushered, "that's a start."

I let go of her and stood tall. She scoffed to herself, probably thinking that talking it out like this was stupid, but we were alone on this corner and we had all the time in the world. I tried smiling at her to reassure that it was okay for her to tell me what she could.

"Okay, that's an understatement. I hate him..but at the same time he's-he's-y'know! How do you say it?"

" 'Kawaii' ?"

"Sure, whatever," she scoffed," so, whenever I see him I feel ticked off and I want to shout at him, but I get kinda shy and girly or something around him. Does that even make any sense?"

"yeah, I understand. Do you want me to tell you what I think?"

She leaned her weight over to her left foot and closed her mouth.

"Well, I can say that you're feelin' somethin' complicated. You get goofy around him yet angry, and you want to hide it so you try to ignore him and pass him off...right?

"Technically, that's considered a crush. But so soon into the year...I say don't worry. Take your time to get to know him and then you decide how you feel. Pursue him if you want, or don't bother with him. It's up to you."

"...Oh-my-God! 'Like him'?! Are you-"

I knew she wanted to gag at what I had said, but what surprised me was when she stopped to think about it. At the same time I heard someone call out my name from behind. To my surprise I found Tachibana running towards me.

_Whew, look at that! A hunk like that running for you? Didn't know you were that lucky lil'-_

_Hey, quit thinkin' weird things, Sam!_

_You thought it first!_

_Wait a minute! Am I havin' this conversation with myself right now?_

"Ah, Tachibana-kun!" I said so I could quickly forgot my awkward moment in my head.

Tachibana stopped in front of me with his hand opening up to me. In his palm was a lime green handkerchief that had the same initials as mine. And it looked like grandma's print too. Hold the phone!

"You dropped this after you left. I'm glad I was able to catch up to you."

"Goodness! I'm sorry you had to do that for me!"

I quickly bowed to him as an apology (customary here, anyways) and reached out to take it from his hand. But as I had just touched it replied, "Ei, don't be sorry. I'm not.."

_Did I just hear that right?_

I had back the handkerchief, but I almost dropped it as i was looking up at him and blushing. Then came the disappointment.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I hope I didn't say anything-uh-well-I-"

He cleared his throat and excused himself from me. I waved goodbye to him, pretending to play it off.

"Can you feel the aw-kward tonight?" sung an off-key voice behind me.

I turned and countered, "Well it looks like someone has finally cheered up!"

"Ha! Talk about 'shy couple'. Can I say that you two are just so 'cu-ute' together?"

I chuckled to that, but I felt the sting of the past hit me hard.

"I don't think that's possible...not after.."

I bit my tongue, just for a moment, and then I told her, "Alright, I gotta get some food on the table. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Y-Yeah.."

She left in the opposite direction as I headed down one shortcut home. After Ella was gone I curled my fists and tried to think about something funny. Anything but that one day...

That night I stood in the kitchen cooking curry with my last clean pot. I got a call from the hospital earlier, and grandma's doctor let me know that she would be able to come home within the week. so at least there was some good news for me. Right now I needed that.

Well, it was getting better. The next day I came in ready to go and settled in my seat (on time, thankfully) and got through the morning. At lunch Hazuki waved around the club application form and tried explaining to Misuzu the plan to start up a new club. Ella had (apparently) talked to Hazuki and joined, but Misuzu had some difficulty deciding if she wanted to do the same. Both Ella and I knew that we couldn't force her, so I let her think it over until she had an answer.

And she really did take her time. The weekend came and went and yet there wasn't a response from her. But my good news finally came when my grandmother came back on Sunday with fire in her spirit , though she put me through the usual guilt trip about not visiting her then a lecture from the letter she got from the school about me "allegedly breaking into private property". I was lucky that she believed me when I explained what really happened. We were able to talk to each other for the rest of the day and catch up on me and school.

The school week picked up after that and still nothing from Misuzu. We all missed her at lunch while everyone worked refurbishing the school pool (we had to agree to that when the school board finally approved). Though, Ms. Ama didn't do anything but "supervise" us from her sun chair underneath an umbrella.

As we were working around the fence one day I moved closer to Tachibana and asked, "So how did it turn out with the art club?'

"Eh? Ah, well..I just didn't expect that they would do that."

I laughed to myself and put down my clippers.

"Yeah. They just sprung out of nowhere and tried to kidnap Nanase-kun. And then Hazuki-kun was on the floor trying to save him..."

I broke off so I could control my laughter. Tachibana smiled and started chuckling softly.

" 'Gomen' , I just find it funny, but you probably disagree with me."

"No, I understand. It was startling at first, but now I see what you mean."

"Oi, you two!"

Hazuki stood tall in the unfilled pool with his finger pointed at us. Ella looked up at the same time, and then both of their voices ordered in unison, "Quit slacking and get to work!"

"Hey, don't steal my words from me!" snapped Ella.

"O-I didn't mean to!"

"Hmph!"

"Aww, Takemono-chan! Please don't be that way!"

Tachibana and I watched them argue with each other, and then we started laughing. I had no idea what came over me but I looked at Tachibana and instantly felt that everything was okay, that I was safe. For this once we could relax. That I could relax.

Thanks to everyone's help, Misuzu's (whom joined us not too soon after), and Kou's, we were able to finish the pool by the end of the week. It looked brand new with the pool filled and the sidewalk cleaned. We all celebrated with some cider and cheered, everything seeming well.

Then that one water fanatic just couldn't contain himself any longer.

One moment I hear someone shout, then the next there's an embarrassed girl staring at a shirtless guy ripping his pants off. I whistled to myself thinking that he was a son of a gun, but I turned back to Misuzu while she was working herself up to a point. A creep then comes up, scares her into the pool, she's saved by Nanase and now laying unconscious in my arms.

"Oh, Lord, so help me. I.."

I had no idea what I could do at this point. One person was floatin' in the too-cold-of-a-pool, one conked out, a teacher with an injured elbow, and a pervert makin' a run for it.

Go-what was-I-I-

I was almost on the verge of shouting at the top of my lungs when I felt a hand pat my shoulder, and a voice said to me," Mueller-san, please take a deep breath."

Tachibana gave me an encouraging smile. And suddenly my mind was clear.

With a deep breath I turned to Hazuki and asked, "Hazuki-kun, can you take Ama-sensei to the nurse's?"

"Hai!"

"Tachibana-kun, can you fish out Dolphin Boy before he catches a cold? Then one of you take Misuzu up to the nurse's with you?"

"Ye-wait, Dolphin Boy?!"

"And girls?"

Both Kou and Ella looked at me with serious faces.

"There's a pervert on the loose with pictures of Misuzu's panties on his phone."

"Pervert?!"

"What do you wanna do, Samantha?"

"Let's go kill the lil' bastard!"

I handed Misuzu over to Tachibana and stoop up with the other two. Ella took the gateway path and Kou went through the locker rooms. We knew the guy would hurry towards the main gate to get out, so in case he tried throwing us off of his tracks we split up. Without a moment to lose I jumped onto the fence and climbed over to follow the path he came. I jumped into the bushes he hid in, fumbling to the side but caught myself at the edge of the small incline. His foot prints checkered the ground as if he was in a hurry to scramble up. But the prints were still there. He was about as dumb as a chicken trying to hide from fox in a chicken coop.

"I'mma getcha'!" I declared, "and you'll regret it!"

That guy made it the entire way around the school up to the entrance. I was able to make out a figure as it stumbled on its feet. I had a few seconds to catch up. No way was he gonna get away now!

"Hey! Hold it right there!" I shouted.

He looked right at me and tried to get up. Just as he was back on his feet, Ella came out of nowhere screaming something. The guy was quick to react. For one second I saw him raise his hands out to defend himself and then Ella jumps on top of him. Both fell to the ground.

"Ella!"

I ran as fast as I could to her. When I got there I found the guy on top of her with his hands...on her chest...on her chest?!

She shrieked at him, then clocked him right in the head. He fell over to the side like a ton of bricks.

"Ella, what did he-"

"He just groped me! Oh my God! He's so dead!"

I laughed and replied, "don't worry about that. He's out for good. You punched his lights out, Ella!"

I helped her up onto her feet while she was still making a fuss about the boy. We looked down at his unconscious body wondering what we were to do.

"What do we do with him now?"

"I dunno...we could throw him into the pool..or bury him six feet under."

"No-o!"

"No one would know.."

"One: you're creeping me out. Second: it's not the end of the world when he fondled your-"

"Yes it is! I can't get married now.."

I looked at her and said, "I didn't think you were someone to consider marriage after high school.."

"Well, no, but-"

She turned her head and murmured, "Shut up."

Rolling my eyes I bent down and grabbed his ankles.

"C'mon, let's take him to the nurse's office."

"I wouldn't even touch him with a four foot pole."

"Ella, seriously, we can't leave him here."

"Mueller-san!"

Kou ran towards us with two others at her side, Tachibana and Nanase. I felt relieved to have someone actually help me than just complain.

Tachibana and Nanase carried him for us as we walked back into the school building. Kou walked with Ella and I to catch up on what had happened. It was a good thing she came back to find us because I almost worried that she had gotten lost during the chase. She told us that she ended up taking a wrong turn, went through the building to find the school entrance, then found the two others trying to find us.

We entered the nurse's office with the nurse jumping back and forth between Misuzu and Ms. Ama. Hazuki wasn't helping much besides bugging the nurse, but he saw us and said, "Ah! 'Min-ea'! You're back!"

"Who could possib-oh! Another unconscious one? Set him on that corner bed."

The boy set him down gently as the nurse walked towards him and checked his forehead for fever. Then she asked us, "How's this one out?"

"Well, um, you see, " I explained, "he...ran into a wall."

"You don't have to lie. It's obvious that he was punched..."

"I-I'm sorry, ma'am.."

"He probably deserves it. I've seen him in here multiple times for the same reason."

"Why's that?"

"Girls have caught him stalking them and gave him a good smack in the face."

Oh great, we've got a Grade A pervert on our hands?

"And it's about time he wakes up. I can't wait to see what excuse he gives this time."

From her desk she grabbed her cup of water and threw it right in his face. Everyone but Ella and Nanase gasped when she did it.

The boy coughed and gagged when he woke up with a rough start. Ella and I folded our arms, and she asked, "What's your name?"

"Nn-who..?"

"Name. Now."

"U-uh..Minami Gou. Look, I'm really sor-"

"So, Minami, you think it's fun to take pictures of girls' panties and try to run away?"

"It's not like that. I-"

"Don't weasle your way out of this, Minami-san. I'd do what she says, "I warned him.

He closed his mouth.

"What were you doing by the pool?"

"I took pictures-"

"So you admit that you took pictures of her-!"

"No-no! I wasn't! I was..."

"You were what?!"

"I was trying to take pictures of..swimsuits.."

Ella and I looked at each other for a moment. Both of us were thinking, _What's the difference between taking pictures of underwear and swimsuits?_

"You better not be making fun of me, Minami. I'll put you out again!"

" 'Ch-Ch-Ch-Chotto mat-te'-I'm serious!"

"Really? 'Cuz you seem like you're hiding something?"

"Well, I mean, my friends put me up to it, but I only agreed to it because..uh...swimsuits...are..interesting..."

"...That's pretty bold of you to say that right now in your situation," I said after a series of imaginary crickets chirped.

"Call me crazy, but I just had to say it."

"Swimsuits or not you're still a creep who has nasty photos of my friend. And I want them deleted now," demanded Ella.

"No problem," he muttered, "I didn't see any swimsuits anyway..."

Ella stomped over to him and snatched his 'keitai' out of his hand. As she snapped at him about his other photos, Misuzu moaned in her sleep, mumbling something about water. I slowly sat down at the end of her bed and called out her name.

"N-no," she cooed in her sleep, "don't...'da-re-ga'...help...'da-su-ke-te'..'onigai'..please..."

"Misuzu-san..?"

All of a sudden she rose up in a panic like she dreamt a bad dream. Misuzu gasped for breath holding her head in her hands. It scared me to see her like that. I'd never seen her that panicked before.

" 'Dai-jou-bu' ?" I asked.

"M-..Mueller-san? Where...Where are we?"

"We're in the nurse's office. You..passed out after you fell into the water, do you remember?"

"H-Hai..Oh! 'Gomen-nasai'!" I shouldn't have worried you like that!"

"No need to be sorry. Things like that can't be helped, y'know? Plus, you can lean on us when you need to. We're friends, right?"

"..Friends?"

"Well, duh," Ella cut in, "you and I already knew each other before coming here and Samantha's cool enough to join our group. Kou, you alright with us as friends?"

Kou smiled a bit nervously before answering, "Of course!"

"There, Misuzu-chan. Now call us 'Samantha and Ella'."

"W-What?"

"Oh, c'mon Ella," I replied, "wouldn't that be a bit too much for her in a day."

Ella shrugged at me.

"Then she'll do it when she wants to."

Misuzu fiddled with her fingers, her eyes on the sheets, and then squeaked, "Sama-ntha-chan...Ell-a-chan..."

I couldn't contain myself when I heard her say my name.

"Aww! Did you hear that, Ella?"

" 'Kawaii', neh?'

Then Hazuki zipped over to us and asked, "Then that means we're friends, too? Right? Right? And Makoto-chan and Haruka-chan as well?"

Tachibana told him, "Only if they're comfortable with it, Nagisa."

"Hmph!...I suppose you could be a friend.." Ella huffed.

"Then that officially makes us friends, Ella-chan!"

She furiously crossed her arms and turned her head away with her cheeks glowing red. I laughed at them and then asked Misuzu, "So, Misuzu-chan, if it's not any-"

"N-N-Na-Na-s-s-se-"

I glanced in the direction that she was looking and gasped. Everyone then turned.

"Nanase! How long have you been in your swim trunks?!"

"Some time now.."

"How can you be so calm saying that?!"

Thump!

"Aww, Nanase! You just made her faint again!"

"Wha-"

"You're indecent! Where're your clothes?"

"By the pool."

"Then go get 'em on!"

"Now?"

And so I snapped, "It's either walking out of your own free will or I toss you out the window so you'll fly to the pool."

"Ha-ha-ha! Haruka-chan flying...like a flying fish!"

" 'Saba'?"

"Just go get'cher clothes already!"


End file.
